House speaker kills Senate redistricting plan

Howell's action may break logjam on other issues

RICHMOND – Senate Democrats breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday as House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, killed the surprise redistricting plan Senate Republicans hoped would solidify their power for years to come.

Howell ruled the Senate plan to radically redraw the state's 40 Senate districts as "not germane" to the original House of Delegates measure the plan was attached to. The original House bill cleaned up split precincts in 39 House districts.

Howell noted his ruling was consistent with "germaneness" rulings he has made during his 11 years in the speaker's chair.

"A responsible upholding of the honor and integrity of the House and the institution of the speaker requires that I be consistent in my rulings," Howell said.

Senate Republicans used the absence of Democratic Sen. Henry Marsh on Martin Luther King Day to push their redistricting plan through the evenly divided chamber. Their map would have allowed the GOP to pick up as many as seven Senate seats in exchange for adding a sixth minority-majority district.

Senate Democrats were outraged by the move, and described it as a "raw power grab." They threatened political repercussions from their caucus, which already had qualms about Gov. Bob McDonnell's comprehensive transportation funding package and fixes to the state's two-year budget plan.

On a key legislative deadline Tuesday, Senate Democrats killed their chamber's version of the transportation plan, leaving only the House version going forward.

"I expect it was a lot of political courage on his part, but Bill's going to do what he thinks is right," Saslaw said.

McDonnell panned the Senate Republicans' action when it happened, but never said whether he would veto the measure if it made it to his desk. On Wednesday, he praised Howell and said it was time to move on now that the redistricting distraction was over.

"Now it is time for all legislators to focus on the pressing issues facing the General Assembly," McDonnell said in a press release. "I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to get critically important transportation and education legislation and budget amendments passed in the short weeks ahead, so that we can continue to create jobs and improve the lives of our fellow Virginians, and build a stronger Commonwealth."

Saslaw indicated that is exactly what his caucus intends to do, saying progress could be made on a transportation plan.

"We'll work with the speaker," Saslaw said. "We'll get something that everybody can live with. Everybody probably has to give a little."

He also said senior Democratic senators were working with senior Republicans to strike a deal on including an expansion of the state's Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Health Care Act in the budget proposal the chamber is set to act on Thursday. The absence of Medicaid expansion led all five Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee to vote "no" on the committee's spending plan Sunday.

But not everyone was happy with Howell's decision.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment, R-James City County, would have had the City of Williamsburg returned to his district under the GOP plan. He has long contended that Williamsburg was "gerrymandered" away from him under the 2011 district maps drawn by Democrats.

Norment said he respected Howell's prerogative to strike the Senate redistricting plan, but vowed his party's new map would be the one Virginians vote under in the 2015 state Senate elections.

"While the speaker's judgment today means that House Bill 259 will not be promptly enacted, we are confident that the districts approved by the Senate on January 21 will be the districts under which the 2015 elections will be conducted," Norment said.

He did not explain how his party would get that done in the evenly divided chamber.

The chamber's tie-breaker — Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is contemplating an independent run for governor in 2013 — refused to go along with the Senate GOP when approached about the plan.

Saslaw said his caucus members will all be present and accounted for going forward to stave off another ambush.

"With respect to having everybody there, if they've got to be laying by their desk on a gurney their going to be there," Saslaw said. "I won't have to worry about that because even if I have to have somebody there on a gurney and me pushing the button for them, we'll have 20 votes."